


conquest

by rippedjuns



Series: the tri-wizard tournament [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Cheolsoo are Canon BTW, Dragons, Jeonghan's a Slytherin, M/M, Only One Jeonghan Ship Will Rise, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Triwizard Tournament, Wands, Wizards, Yoon Jeonghan-centric, and so is Seungkwan, so is Minhyuk, spells, this was for a challenge so i didn't pick for Jeonghan to be in Slytherin, underlying romance, wHo Is It??!?!?!?!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-05 09:47:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15168008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rippedjuns/pseuds/rippedjuns
Summary: all his life, jeonghan has been told that reputation is the most important thing in life. he has to get the grades, win the awards, and then life will reward him with great honour in his family.but he's always been living in his parents' shadow, following their orders and facing the consequences when he 'fails'. he's lost all pride in himself - hell, he barely knows what the word means anymore except for the fact that its the feeling you get when your parents acknowledge your achievements - and it's a burden that he is forced to carry upon his shoulders every day.unfortunately, jeonghan doesn't know how long he can keep the mask on anymore, and time is slowly running out.





	1. the golden egg

**Author's Note:**

> i am not really a potterhead but i am a slytherin according to pottermore!
> 
> this is for a challenge on seventeen fanfiction amino, and i think it will be about four parts long? (i hope, and i will clarify soon don't worry). i was chosen to write about jeonghan and honestly i'm so happy because he's one of my ults (and everyone knows that i obsess over him way too much...and i obsess over cheolsoo but thats besides the point-)
> 
> please do enjoy this attempt at a harry potter au! \\._./
> 
> recommended song - high hopes by panic! at the disco

taking a glance at his opponents, jeonghan immediately felt more confident in his skills.

dropping his name into the goblet of fire was nothing short of a family tradition, and it was well known that only the best of the yoon family are drawn from the azure flames. jeonghan was more ecstatic than most when his name passed through dumbledore’s lips, the entirety of slytherin jumping up in praise because they believed that they would have a chance to snatch the title once again as the superior house. gryffindors were too curious for their own good in his opinion, constantly getting away with murder when jeonghan and his friends would get a detention for smashing a plate. ravenclaws always preferred to speak their opinions out loud, and they usually attempted to argue against jeonghan and his fellow slytherins because of their apparent wit. then there were hufflepuffs, the smiley, optimistic, happy-go-lucky students that bugged jeonghan to his last nerve, even though they portrayed useless traits throughout their daily lives.

slytherins would always be the strongest leaders, in jeonghan’s eyes, which is why he had to try and impress the crowds in this year’s tri-wizard tournament.

“you’re going to ace this, jeonghan!” minhyuk grinned, patting jeonghan’s shoulder as they waited for further instructions from the hogwarts staff. his friend was also a slytherin, and jeonghan considered himself lucky for finding a supportive friend who is quite similar in traits with himself. “you’re a yoon, what have you got to fear?”

being a yoon was a fear in itself. a fear of failure and disappointment, it was a recurring thought that infects jeonghan’s mind every day. it usually felt him wondering about the consequences of admitting to defeat, and how he would be perceived as an outcast (after witnessing the departure of his auntie hyejin, jeonghan had realised how torturous his family name was). everyone expected only the best for jeonghan, because of his privilege in name, but he decided to stick alongside his slytherin housemates, and found ease in people like minhyuk, who appreciated jeonghan more for himself rather than his surname.

but then again, jeonghan enjoyed feeling prideful for his family, and would do anything at any cost to make sure they were content with his successes.

“that dragon doesn’t know what’s about to hit him,” jeonghan smirked, then though his heart was beating at seventy miles per hour.

minhyuk picked up the cat that was rubbing at his calves, and cradling it in his arms. jeonghan immediately raised his hand to pet its snow white fur, and the cat meowed in delight. “milk believes in you, hannie, and if that isn’t a positive thing to go by, then i don’t know what is.”

milk was definitely jeonghan’s cat: lazy, narcissistic, and commanding. however, milk had grown an attachment to his owner since he was taken out of the shop on diagon alley, and now he’s the perfect house cat.

jeonghan chuckled in response, meeting his eyes with his friend. “you’re right there, minhyuk. at least i have you and milk.”

_“yoon jeonghan of slytherin, please come and pick your dragon.”_

the announcement rang in jeonghan’s ears, and as he took a breath, minhyuk gave him a quick friendly hug. “good luck, han. we believe in you!”

turning away from his best friend, jeonghan straightened his posture, feeling his cloak curl around his figure as he spun, and he strode forward, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. he noticed the other wizards preparing around him, each one coping with their own stress in various different ways. jeonghan didn’t need to express his worry to the world, he preferred to look like a role model to everyone else. when he approached the teacher taking care of the dragons, he simply smiled. the teacher held a basket, decorated with hay in order to protect the eggs that were nesting in the weaved straw. the eggs looked completely identical and were around the size of jeonghan’s palm. grey spots were splattered onto the shell of each egg, which left jeonghan at an utter loss as to what species was held inside.

“take your pick, mr yoon.” she grinned, holding the basket out towards the young wizard. jeonghan ended up taking the dragon in the middle of the bunch, which he could feel moving from inside its egg.

soon enough, the baby dragon managed to peck its way through the tough shell, its tiny head turning to jeonghan as it reached the outside world. its scales were smooth against the pads of his fingers and were painted a deep scarlet. a crown of golden spikes sat proudly upon its head, looking magnificent as it practically cat-walked on jeonghan’s hand. it stared everyone in the tent down with its protruding, lapis eyes, and it caused a little bit of fear to seep into jeonghan’s veins as it stood up on its own two feet.

_“yoon jeonghan will fight the chinese fireball!”_

“it could’ve been worse, kid.” a man walked up to him, wearing a slytherin robe. it was obvious by the badge that he was the head boy for slytherin, someone who jeonghan hoped to be when he reached his final year in hogwarts. known by the entirety of the house, he had the best reputation and the biggest circle of friends. not only that, but he was also very skilled in magic, and was destined to become a high class wizard. “you could’ve gotten a hungarian horntail.” handing jeonghan the anonymous wizard’s wand, he chuckled. “the slytherin house council wishes you the best of luck.”

taking the unfamiliar wand between his figures, jeonghan bowed in respect to his elder, before making his way through the crowds of teachers to reach the tent. the fabric seemed as if it was dipped in coffee, stained and burnt in the most random of areas. he wasn’t surprised that the tent in the worst condition, seeing as it was the chinese fireball that he was about to fight. it finally dawned upon him that this was it. he was about to show hogwarts how to conquer the dragon like a yoon.

he also felt snape’s stare on the back of his neck, but he didn’t turn around to identify where in the crowd he was situated.

opening the curtain that hid the dragon from the arena, jeonghan felt his heart reach his throat when he saw how enormous the dragon happened to be, the spikes upon its head close to poking through the high ceiling. it was asleep at that moment, so it could be possible for jeonghan to run and grab the egg without even needing to use the wand. nevertheless, jeonghan took one step and forgot how sensitive the ears of a dragon were, therefore awakening the beast.

all jeonghan could do was gasp.

it was an absolute beauty, but there was no way that he could tame it in any shape or form. it was too aggressive, especially seeing as jeonghan was a slytherin (and his house wasn’t particularly known for being best friends with the mythical creatures). the only way to get out of this situation alive and with the egg would be through the way that severus snape taught him: by fighting.

“incendio,” he began, testing out the capabilities of his wand. it did start a fire, although, it happened to be behind him, causing him to forget about the dragon and rush to put out the fire that could kill the both of them at once. when he was distracted by stomping his foot against the sunny flames, the chinese fireball grabbed him from behind, its claws digging into his torso. “let me go, you overgrown reptile!”

that combined with slapping the wand against the scales of the dragon wasn’t the best idea, because the dragon growled viciously, steam erupting from his nostrils. jeonghan felt its sharp claws push so forcefully, he wouldn’t be surprised if there happened to be blood drawn from the bruises and wounds that were to form. jeonghan didn’t forget the reason why he came here, meaning that he didn’t forget that he wouldn’t be able to risk raising the white flag now. his family, minhyuk, and milk were outside, anticipating the best from him, and he couldn’t let them down now in the first challenge. it was time to use his slytherin skills to the best of his abilities.

if he aimed the wand towards the dragon, he would cast a spell behind him. so if he aimed the wand in front of him now, whilst the dragon was behind him, it should hit the dragon, wouldn’t it?

it was worth a damn shot.

remembering the sequence to distract a dragon, jeonghan held his wand up to the cotton of the tent. “impedimenta!” the dragon’s grip on him didn’t loosen, but it began to decrease in the rate of movement, the flow of smoke swimming out of its snout slowing down. now that it’s attacks would be slower, jeonghan had to aim the next shot with the wand perfectly in order for his plan to fall through perfectly. imagining a mirror in front of him, jeonghan pointed the wand towards a specific spot where he believed the dragon’s eye was, recalling snape telling him that the pupil of the dragon was their weakest spot. “aguamenti!” the next shot was the reason why jeonghan was named the luckiest yoon in his family. not only was he able to get away with any wrong act that he may have performed (his house mascot was a snake after all), but he was able to complete the majority of difficult tasks that would be impossible to others. he had struck gold when the water landed directly in the eye of the chinese fireball - figuratively and literally, as he was dropped to the floor, giving him time to run to the hay bales that surrounded the objective.

it glistened gently under the rays that passed through the holes of the tent, its golden colour able to make any wizard drool in excitement to take it home and cash it in for greater things. no flaws covered the shell, and no spots made the egg seem unprepossessing. if he was allowed to, jeonghan would’ve loved to store it on his trophy cabinet in the dorms or the slytherin common room, the egg emitting pride and victory through every sparkle. soft to touch, jeonghan found joy in holding it in his arms, like a mother cradling her newborn after birth, and he couldn’t wait to get out of the tent to show his success to the remainder of hogwarts.

however, as he skipped to the curtain, the chinese fireball had other ideas, the spell having straightforwardly worn off.

harshly, it growled at jeonghan, positioning itself to pounce at the young slytherin. he had stolen its most treasured possession, and it wasn’t going to let him walk out. mushroom shaped flames blossomed from its nostrils, lighting up the floor beneath them, which caused jeonghan to dance around the deathly infernos. he held the golden egg close to his chest with one arm and positioned his wand in front of him in defence with the opposite.

his breath hitched. the magical stick shook in his hands from the nerves pulsing throughout his body. every class replayed like a movie in his head. every spell recited from the books resurfaced all at once. he had to keep himself under control. but why was he sweating vigorously? he didn’t like this feeling of nervousness. slytherins were meant to be leaders. leaders can’t be scared. it’s just a dragon. a colossal, ferocious, menacing dragon that wants to eat him for breakfast. it didn’t seem good for him. what would his parents say to this? a yoon being defeated in the first challenge? jeonghan could already imagine the frown upon his father’s face…

he needed a spell to get him out of there, and fast.

_“okay jeonghan,” snape spoke up, his voice echoing through the spacious classroom. “you know the basics of using someone else’s wand, but now, you need to learn the spells that could give you the upper hand.” jeonghan stood up straight as snape handed him the wand of one of his slytherin students, patting his back to urge him to pivot towards the next target._

_“what spell would you recommend, sir?” jeonghan asked, stepping up onto the famous podium and looking at his shivering opponent._

_“you are forbidden to kill the dragon, because they are used for other lessons.” snape walked to the midpoint between the pair of boys, his voice not faltering in tone. “however, you are allowed to use the majority of other spells in your fight for the egg. personally, as the creator of the spell, i would recommend levicorpus.”_

_“isn’t that the spell that hangs the opponent upside down by their ankles?” confidently, the slytherin boy responded._

_“you are correct.” clearing his throat, snape replied. he rested his hands behind his back and lifted his chin up to stare at jeonghan with a serious sneer. it was typical for snape to give this look to his students, even those from slytherin, so neither student was bothered by the expression. “because you and this wand have a weak compatibility, it is vital that your complete focus is on your target. you will need to know everything about your target in order for the wand to follow your order, and you must make sure that is the only thought on your mind until the spell has been cast.”_

_“so i basically have to do my research on the four dragons because i chose to use a wand?” jeonghan sighed, shifting his weight onto his right foot. unfortunately, his afternoon nap would have to wait until later._

_“exactly.” slipping a sheet of paper out from his cloak pocket, snape read through the information before speaking again. “the boy’s name is moon bin, a fourth year hufflepuff. he is a halfblood with a muggle mother, and his father attended hogwarts also as a hufflepuff. his favourite subject is herbology and his least favourite subject is defence against the dark arts - hence why he is my test subject for today. did you get all of that, jeonghan?”_

_the boy in question gulped, “i guess.”_

_“it’s not as hard as you think, to be very honest. just take a deep breath and—“_

_“but sir, what if i mess it up? i’m going to be the laughing stock of my family! i just want to make them proud of me like they were with my sister and my cousins, but what if i fail on the first try?”_

_“jeonghan, practice makes progress, not perfect. you are a great wizard, and you put in more than enough effort to succeed. don’t do this for your parents, do it for yourself as a wizard. being independent is a great skill - better than some complex spells, may i add.” snape sidestepped closer to the anxious boy, and although he wasn’t really smiling, jeonghan could tell that his professor was genuine about his words. “every student taking part is nervous, but it’s about how you overcome those nerves to shine through in the competition. your name was picked out from the goblet of fire for a reason: because the gods believe that you’re strong enough to take on such a challenge that is the triwizard tournament, which is why they call every contestant a champion. they are correct in their decisions, to be truthful, since you are a very powerful wizard, and your family name happens to be an added bonus.”_

_“thank you, professor snape.”_

_“no problem, mr yoon. now, let’s try out the spell, shall we?”_

_channelling all the energy built up inside of his body, jeonghan lifted the wand up to the hufflepuff’s figure, clearing his mind of any unnecessary thoughts and focusing completely on his target._

> _the boy’s name is moon bin, he is a fourth year hufflepuff._
> 
> _he is a halfblood, muggle mother, wizard father._
> 
> _favourite subject is herbology, least is defence against the dark arts._
> 
> _the boy’s name is moon bin, he is a fourth year hufflepuff._
> 
> _he is a halfblood, muggle mother, wizard father._
> 
> _favourite subject is herbology, least is defence against the dark arts._
> 
> _the boy’s name is moon bin, he is a fourth year hufflepuff._
> 
> _he is a halfblood, muggle mother, wizard father._
> 
> _favourite subject is herbology, least is defence against the dark arts._

_“levicorpus!”_

_a spark of lightning sprouted from the wand, and moon bin let out a slight yelp. he was swept off of his feet by an unknown force, and was left dangling upside down in the air. scrambling about in the air, the hufflepuff let out shrieks of fear, but they were drowned out by jeonghan’s cheers of joy._

_“it worked, professor snape! it really worked!” jumping on the duel stage, jeonghan grinned, his eyes sparkling brighter than any lightning that could come as a result of a spell. snape’s lips quivered, just managing to lift into a small smile - which was obviously nothing in comparison to jeonghan’s jovial beam, but still was astounding to the students. that smile meant a lot to jeonghan. it meant that he was ready._

jeonghan reminisced in the smile that his professor gave him, and how his self-esteem flew through the glass roof when he discovered that he was prepared for the battlefield. everything immediately flooded back to him, a dam breaking open in his head in order for the memories to flow through his brain. it was the only spell that he could confidently use that wouldn’t harm the dragon, so it was clear to jeonghan that this was his exit key. plus, he needed something to astonish the audience with, why would he restrict himself to first year spells?

his nerves didn’t wholly vanish. nevertheless, he managed to push them aside, so then he was able to allow his full attention to focus on the dragon. narrowing his eyes, he controlled his breathing and recalled everything he knew about the creature from the copious amounts of revision he completed in the campus library.

> _the dragon is a chinese fireball, and it originates from china._
> 
> _its blood has magical properties, and its heartstrings are used in wands._
> 
> _it is also known as a liondragon, and is affiliated with the romanian dragon sanctuary._
> 
> _the dragon is a chinese fireball, and it originates from china._
> 
> _its blood has magical properties, and its heartstrings are used in wands._
> 
> _it is also known as a liondragon, and is affiliated with the romanian dragon sanctuary._
> 
> _the dragon is a chinese fireball, and it originates from china._
> 
> _its blood has magical properties, and its heartstrings are used in wands._
> 
> _it is also known as a liondragon, and is affiliated with the romanian dragon sanctuary._
> 
> _the dragon is a chinese fireball–_

“levicorpus!”

a spiral of clouds - similar to that of a tornado - began to circle around the huffing dragon, who spun about on his feet, attempting to find an escape route. sparks of vicious lightning erupted from the tip of the wand, striking the chinese fireball painfully in various places. it howled out, shaking the ground with the same intensity as an earthquake, before its limbs were glued together. then, a harsh breeze pushed the dragon off of the ground and flipped the petrifying creature upside down. alarmingly, it tried to fight against the forces of the spell, but the dark magic formed by the wizards of the world - including severus snape himself - was not effortless to break without a spell to combat it. the chinese fireball’s yowls shortly transitioned into cries, unconsciously alerting jeonghan that he should leave the tent whilst he still possessed both of his legs. repositioning the egg in his grasp, jeonghan pivoted on his heels and sprinted for the curtains.

there could be nothing more splendid than breathing the fresh air of victory, jeonghan thought to himself.

crowds of shamrock and ebony formed a tight ring around him, screaming his name as they praised him through hugs. his thoughts were submerged with joyous emotions, causing his body to heedlessly join the rhythm of the audience that came to support him. minhyuk was right by his side, squeezing him tightly to congratulate him on his success, and jeonghan could see his opponent and house member seungkwan amongst the crowds, chanting his name with the abundance of people who happened to be doing the same.

“i told you that you could do it, jeonghan!” minhyuk shouted over the ear-piercing hails, a widespread grin plastered upon his face. “we saw everything on the big screen, i can’t believe that you used a dark arts spell!"

“i know! i still can’t believe it myself!” the champion replied, sharing his happiness with his friend as they shuffled with the crowd towards the egress of the arena. “my parents are going to be so proud of me!”

jeonghan didn’t notice minhyuk’s smile faltering a little.

his attention to his friend soon faded away, only focusing on the applause of his name and the cheers of reverence to his house, slytherin. 

☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡

_“did you see jeonghan today in the arena? how can someone be so majestic whilst fighting a dragon?”_

_“i don’t know. i could barely focus on supporting my own house because all i could think of was his astonishing performance.”_

_“how can one person not be anxious when fighting a goddamn chinese fireball? he is definitely a yoon, and he’s absolutely extraordinary.”_

_“i think i’m falling for a yoon, isn’t that forbidden?”_

_“i think i am as well, but i think we could make it work.”_

_“i don’t want to lose this chance, baby.”_

_“i don’t want to either. trust me, we will win his slytherin heart over.”_


	2. the saviour mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before you read this, i'm going to be uploading another short story called 'ineffable limerence' which occurs in between chapter one and chapter two, so i highly recommend that you read that first before continuing with this chapter!
> 
> recommended song - king of the clouds by panic! at the disco  
> ((can you tell that i love his new album))  
> ((this song has no relevance to the fic, i needed a song and this is one of my favourites))

the chilling february breeze crawled up jeonghan’s spine as he stood by the shore of the great lake.

 

he remembered gazing at the shimmers of the water surface with his sister before she was due to swim within the depths. they used to eat the every-flavour jelly beans from diagon alley, which they used to pick up during the christmas break, and talk absolute nonsense to each other. she shared the same fears, the same stresses, and the same worries, so jeonghan was able to rant for hours upon end about whatever he desired, and his sister would have open ears. once she graduated, jeonghan lost that listener, and his anxieties became more of a secret diary than a library book. 

 

he could only have her with him in spirit for now, until he visited her in the holidays again. 

 

if only minhyuk would understand how he feels about his parents’ consistent pushes to success, then maybe his sister’s absence wouldn’t be as big of a deal. 

 

now, the great lake is bordered with wizards and witches, eager to catch a glimpse of the champions before they swam amongst the creatures of the water source. it stretched out for miles, allowing room for all of the hogwarts alumni and five more of the like to observe the event. tall towers stretched their poles out of the lake, mingling with the clouds hovering above. it wasn’t the most pleasant of days, seeing as they were situated in the middle of scotland, but at least the clouds didn’t block of the glorious views of the mountains that protected hogwarts from societal discrimination. scotland seemed a lot more homely compared to his house back in seoul in jeonghan’s opinion, especially as it is a lot calmer to wake up to the soft chirping of birds than the vociferous honking of cars. everyone knew each other in hogwarts (which obviously made it harder to have secrets), but you felt so alone on the streets of seoul, like another spec of dust in the wind. hogwarts could’ve have been placed in a better section of the country, seeing as the picturesque scenery made the entire frame of the school seem all the more magical. 

 

another boy in a similar attire to his own - the tacky, emerald diving suits that hugged their thighs and torsos to the point of suffocation - approached him from behind, patting him on the back. it was clear who he was: boo seungkwan, the other slytherin champion. never before had he properly gotten to know the young boy (mostly because jeonghan preferred to stick to himself and minhyuk, whilst seungkwan seemed more like a social butterfly), but now he had to somewhat help him through the challenge just because they happened to share the same house. jeonghan partially wanted to help seungkwan succeed, but the majority of his brain was built to follow his parents’ words of ‘you are your own man, you have no need to help others’. none of that, nevertheless, stopped seungkwan from striking up a conversation before they dived into the bitter waters.

 

“i found your first challenge really fascinating, jeonghan!” he began, his eyes lighting up as jeonghan made eye contact with him. “you really are like your parents.”

 

jeonghan couldn’t tell whether that was a compliment or an insult.

 

“thank you, seungkwan. your performance was good as well.” bluntly, he replied. he tried to make it clear that he wasn’t in the mood for a quick gossip session before a challenge, but seungkwan never seemed to grasp that concept.

 

“although we may not have a lot of time to talk right now, it could be cool if we talked after the competition, or in between the second and third task. it would be nice to get to know my fellow slytherin champion a bit better, so then we can help each other on our weaknesses in order to have a better chance at achieving the main prize. it would be an honour to learn some of your knowledge - to add - because you genuinely are an amazing wizard and it’s clear to everyone that you’re a yoo–”

 

“would you please shut up?” the older slytherin hissed at the latter, “i don’t care what happens after this, we could ride ponies into the sunset for all i care. but can you not shout in my ear before i have to complete a task? i don’t want to waste my energy on you right now.”

 

shocked, seungkwan’s lip trembled a little. “i see how it is. good luck, anyways.”

 

it hurt to see the younger boy waddle away with a frown, but jeonghan couldn’t help that. the demons in his head were distracting him enough, he doesn’t need a loud-mouthed kid echoing in his ear at that very moment in time. 

 

having his own wand in his hand for this sort of competition felt more relieving than before, seeing as mr ollivander said that the wand that chose him would be more trustworthy than anyone else’s, due to the familiarity and the uniqueness to it. jeonghan was lucky to have a dragon heartstring core wand, surrounded by laurel wood and a delicate design on the handle. using his own wand in battle meant that his shots would be accurate, and he could effortlessly cast spells without having to use up all of his spiritual energy on one charm (like in the first challenge).

 

unable to find minhyuk in time, jeonghan decided that it would be easier for everyone if he just headed up to the decks early, so he could perform the transfiguration charm on himself without agitation. rather than using gillyweed or a bubble mask, jeonghan’s logic was to blend in slightly with the creatures beneath the great lake by using a transfiguration charm to turn his entire bottom half into the tail of a fish, so that he could sneak through the soldiers and reach the wizard before anything tragic occurs. nerves began to multiply in his body as he took a step onto the wooden platforms, but he felt calmer than he did when he was forced to fight the dragon. maybe that was also because he had his own wand now to hand. 

 

casting the charm over his body, he made himself primed for the challenge. the waters were just beneath him, and just a simple blank gunshot would set him off into the river. 

 

he was thrilled.

 

“okay champions!” the announcement screeched through the speakers, “your objective: save the wizards in the lake, and swim back to your assigned deck within the time limit. you have one hour, we wish you the best of luck!”

 

_ bang. _

 

jeonghan didn’t even have time to comprehend his actions before he was headfirst into the water, submerging himself in the aqua fluids. burns crashed against his skin as his body followed the orders of the charm, struggling to adjust to the new changes of his anatomy. his legs had glued themselves together to form an onyx and emerald speckled tail, matching his diving suit that was his attire previously. he kept the upper half of the outfit, however, making it slightly easier to glide through the waves without having to worry about direct injury of his torso. the charm must’ve changed the way that he was able to breathe - maybe by transfiguring the job of his lungs, or probably opening up some gills around his skin - because he was able to take deep breaths without needing to fear drowning. with his wand clutched in his hand, jeonghan began to swim towards the lake bed in the hopes of discovering someone. 

 

rocks of all shapes and sizes surrounded him as he moved with the current, his new tail propelling him forward. there were no fishes speeding around him in the great lake, possibly because of the inhabitants living beneath the surface. it was disappointing, as jeonghan would’ve loved to have taken a detour as he swam around, observing the beauties of nature that freely roamed around the area. he could’ve found an angelfish, and he would’ve been reminded of his parents consistently calling him an angel at home, due to his coincidental birthdate. they would’ve swirled around the pinhead rocks, playing hide and seek to amuse themselves in their schools, and thus amusing jeonghan as he would pass. but then again, no creature dared dive into the great lake anymore. not now that it was taken over by the merpeople.

 

vicious creatures were the merpeople. teeth sharp like knives, ready to tuck into the savoury sensation of a three course meal that happens to be you; skin cracked and wrinkled from the overexposure to water, faulting their once stunning complexion and their permanent entrancing voices; eyes piercing straight through their targets, burning a hole directly through their brains as their pupils constricted into barely even a dot. they were the epitome of danger, and every wizard would usually be forbidden to step foot near the rim of the lake - which was fairly hypocritical now that jeonghan thought about it. inside every children’s storybook, merpeople were portrayed as elegant life forms, being gentle towards every living organism they came across. however, it was contradictory in reality. one wrong move, and humans would be sucked into the depths of the water by the creatures. if a mermaid’s song is heard within distance, any person with common sense would obviously move as far away as possible to avoid the consequences. however, if someone was unfortunate to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, they would be held tightly and dragged down to the sea bed in an attempt to be drowned. no one could hear them scream. no one could hear them cry. no one could hear them choke.

 

jeonghan didn’t think too much of the situation when he noticed the flowing ebony hair of a young and unconscious wizard. the young girl was tangled amongst floating chains, locking her to the bottom of the river. jeonghan needed to get her out of there. he needed to save her before something dreadful occured.

 

he was just too late.

 

something clutched ahold of his tail.

 

pulled backwards, jeonghan barely had enough time to whip his head around to find that he was being dragged away from his target, but that the personage that was dragging him away happened to be none other than a mermaid. 

 

she hollered vociferously. jeonghan’s breath hitched. his plan was meant to be foolproof to the merpeople. was he not obvious enough? he should’ve changed his hairstyle. he should’ve placed in a pair of contacts. he should’ve put more effort into this plan if he wanted it to succeed. 

and now his heart was racing.

 

he could only imagine the shock of everyone’s faces.

 

yoon jeonghan: captured by the merpeople colony.

 

what a waste of a champion.

 

all he could do know was scramble, and try to free himself.

 

he knew it was no use though.

 

he would just continue to fall, and fall, and fall.

 

until he was gone.

 

☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡

 

but he wasn’t gone.

 

because he awoke again.

 

his vision was fairly fuzzy, but the slow movements of his arms as they attempted to push through the water confirmed that he was still underwater. distinguished figures stood in front of him, pointing metal rods in his face. still feeling dazed, jeonghan attempted to push himself up from off the sanded floor in order to investigate the circumstance. the pitchforks followed his every move. 

 

the figures were positioned in a circle, filling the entire area between the unknown centre point and the circumference. a voice angeredly chirped from behind the shield of monsters.

 

_ “this boy cannot leave the premises alive, you must terminate him.” _

 

the demanding tone awoke the minds of the life forms - now identified as the merpeople. jeonghan gasped, as not only was he going to die if he didnt think on his feet, but he could also speak mermish. he forgot about the trait that originated from his mother’s bloodline, with his great great grandmother being part siren, and he was lucky today to put that to good use.

 

_ “yes, mistress.” _

 

acting clueless to their apparent nonsense language, jeonghan strapped on a perplexed mask as he fiddled with his wand in his right hand. he could just about see after casting a lumos spell, but he knew that the spell would have to be distinguished if he wanted to fight back against the aggravated merpeople. it was like a swarm of bees were protecting their queen, inching their pitchforks closer and closer to jeonghan’s face.

 

but the confusing idea was this: why was gladys awake and giving them orders? 

 

he remembered being told in the slytherin champions dorm, with seungkwan sitting beside him on the leather shamrock settee, that the wizards would be unconscious, and that the only way for them to be saved was by fighting through the merpeople and releasing them from the chains that tied them to the floor. nevertheless, the girl standing in front of him today, with a vicious glare in her eyes that jeonghan never thought he would notice in a wizard, was not going to be easy to persuade. 

 

why was she different to the description? was that the same as every other wizard trapped underwater? or was that just his own luck? 

 

quick on his tail, jeonghan held up his wand and grasped it firmly in his hand, his fingers curling around the intricate designs in the wood. off of the top of his head, there was only one spell that could truly help him. fire would useless underwater, and so would the other elements. also, if he was to use a shooting spell, he would have to repeat it multiple times, draining him of his energy completely. so, he decided to use the one spell that he never truly wanted to use, seeing as he considered to be a free get-out-of-jail card.

 

“accio sword!” 

 

soon enough, a mini tornado of bubbles erupted from the surface, leisurely making its way down to jeonghan. wrapped up inside the security of the air spheres was a tall sword, thin and lightweight to easily glide through the lake’s current. jeonghan didn’t really care about its golden handle with its delicate designs that probably took hours to create, nor did he care about the sheath it came saddled in, which was most likely made from real authentic leather. all he wanted was a blade that could slice through the flesh of the merpeople in order to reach gladys and save her from whatever mind trick they had locked her into. 

 

there was no other way to get to her. this was the only pathway through.

 

plunging his sword into the first merman’s chest, jeonghan watched the creature shriek in agony, before falling to the sand, disintegrating as he sank into a painful eternal slumber. the rest pivoted their heads to the tailed champion, who pulled the bloody sword back to his side, planning his next attack. they all propelled towards him, their pitchforks aiming directly for his chest. jeonghan took his wand between his teeth and began heedlessly swinging the sword about in the hopes of it hitting someone. 

 

one by one, each merperson was sliced apart like an onion by jeonghan, falling to the lake bed beneath them and forming quite an enormous pile beneath them. jeonghan didn’t pay attention though, his only thought was to win the battle and save the girl, almost like a knight would in typical fairytale stories - except the princess wants jeonghan dead for some unexpected reason. regardless of this, jeonghan continued to fight for gladys’ freedom. 

 

_ “fight harder, you imbeciles! don’t let him escape alive!” _

 

jeonghan could hear the panic in gladys’ voice as her army decreased in size as time went on. a couple of scratches tore into the champion’s skin, but luckily it wasn’t anything to cry over. he could only clench his teeth tighter into the wand and continue to strike more merpeople down dead. 

 

it wasn’t too long after this until jeonghan could see the target in full view, slaughtering the last few merpeople in order to squeeze his way to gladys. with all the dead bodies disappearing into sea salt, jeonghan took the wand out of his mouth and went to unlock gladys’ chains. 

 

but she jolted away.

 

she growled at jeonghan, who cocked his brow in response. something wasn’t right here, and it left jeonghan confused. this wasn’t the gladys he had seen in the corridors of hogwarts, who bounced about with a smile on her face as she chatted away to dee, kaye, and mai. this wasn’t the gladys that excelled in herbology and potion making, but always asked professor snape for help in defence against the dark arts. this wasn’t the gladys who grinned at jeonghan even when he snarled at her. 

 

_ “gladys, what’s up with you?” _

 

_ “you killed my friends, so you must die as well.” _

 

_ “gladys, they aren’t your friends. there’s something wrong with you. your friends are kaye, mai, and dee!” _

 

_ “you killed my friends! unlock me so i can rid of you like you got rid of them—!” _

 

“finite incantatem!” jeonghan shouted under the water, his wand swiftly pointed at her throat. a rapid flash of ruby light sparked from his wand, throwing gladys backwards as far as the chains would let her. it had knocked her unconscious, but when jeonghan swam over to her, the pulse of her wrist was still beating steadily. 

 

what in the world just happened?

 

jeonghan didn’t even know if the spell he had just cast would even be effective to gladys, for he doesn’t exactly know what the cause of the entire situation was, to be fair. nonetheless, gladys will be safer with the spell than without it, in jeonghan’s opinion, and there’s no going back from it now. after unlocking the sleeping girl’s chains, jeonghan held her close to his chest, and pointed his wand to the sky. 

 

“ascendio.”

 

☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡

 

awaiting the effects of the spell to wear off, jeonghan sat on the deck of the great lake, watching the waves roll past him - and even creating a few himself with his tail. 

 

gladys had been taken to the infirmary to allow her to wake up in a safe environment. jeonghan still couldn’t get his head around the idea of gladys’ mind being controlled by something of the unknown. when he explained it to snape, not even he could comprehend what jeonghan had seen. it was a mystery as to what had actually occurred in the lake, but jeonghan assumed that she taken a potion or had a spell cast upon her to make her act like that. peculiar was an immaculate word to describe the entire event.

 

once all the champions had completed the task, the crowds wore away, like rock eroding over time, which left jeonghan to contemplate and recollect his thoughts after the fatiguing hour he had to endure. familiar footsteps pressed their force into the wooden planks as they made their way closer to where jeonghan sat, whistling a short tune as they strolled along. a quick turn of the head allowed jeonghan to realise that it was just minhyuk. 

 

“hey, han.” he started off, handing the boy a jelly bean from his packet. “congrats on completing the task today.”

 

“thanks, minnie.” jeonghan smiled, kicking his fin about in the water, hoping for it to transfigure back into his normal legs soon. “it wasn’t my best performance though.”

 

“what do you mean?”

 

“well, gladys was unpredictable firstly. second of all, i used the easiest spells to get myself out of the situation, even though i know i’m meant to impress.”

 

“it’s more or less about time, jeonghan. who cares about the spell that you casted? as long as you got the student out within the time slot - which you succeeded in doing.”

 

“i know that my parents are going to be—“

 

“jeonghan will you please shut up about your damned parents?” minhyuk bursted out, his facial expression clearly showing jeonghan that he was irritated. “why do you always feel like you have to impress your parents?”

 

swallowing the frog, jeonghan looked innocently at his best friend. “because they raised me, and i have to carry on the family reputation.”

 

“jeonghan, you are your own person, with your own set of rules and goals. you are not and will not be just a clone of your parents, none of us will have any of it. when you leave hogwarts, you’ll be on your own. you’ll have no one to impress, and no one to follow. it’s time that you gain that independence and stray away from whatever your parents are telling you to do, because i know that you’re hiding something inside of you. i noticed it at the yule ball when you were dancing with mingyu, you have something other than narcissism and arrogance within your heart, it’s just down to you to find it yourself. i can’t do it, mingyu can’t do it, even your parents can’t do it.”

 

“but, minhyuk—“

 

“i don’t want to hear any excuses, jeonghan. i’ve had to suffer through your pain as well, and it hurts me as your best friend to see you hurt.  therefore, i’m going to disconnect myself from you until you can prove that you aren’t just another yoon clone. being a prodigy or a descendant has people expecting the best from you, but by acting upon what your family wants, and not what you personally want, it causes people to think less of you and the people you associate yourself with. so sort yourself out, and then we can friends again.”

 

and with that, minhyuk got up from his seat and left jeonghan alone. 

 

he sighed to himself, and played with the water again with his fin.

 

maybe he should consider changing. 

 

maybe it could be for the better. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to gladys, she's not like this in real life i promise you haha!


	3. the end of all things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp, this one is extremely long and is the definition of a rollercoaster, so buckle up and grab your popcorn!  
> this is the final part btw :3
> 
> quick word of warning - there are mentions of abuse when seungkwan and jeonghan are talking //after// facing the creature, but it isn't deeply talked about
> 
> recommended song - hey look ma, i made it by panic! at the disco

_ one will lose his honour _

****

each breath felt like jeonghan’s last at this point in time.

****

he’s slowly losing everything, from the love of his life to his only best friend, with the remaining thing being the honour of his cursed family name. he’s sure that many other people would sell their soul to become a yoon, praying that the devil will agree to their request and follow through with the plan, despite not diving deeper into the murky details of his family history, and discovering that it’s not all that it adds up to be. 

****

he can still remember the screams, the shouts, the shrieks, all bursting his eardrums in the space of a few seconds. it was too painful to remember, yet too impactful to forget. the words carelessly streaming from their lips, and smacking his sister on the face whilst tears dribbled down her cheek. he wasn’t a wizard at the time, and therefore wasn’t in education like his sister was in at the time, but he still knew the tactics of his parents extremely well. they only want the best, and nothing worse than the best will do in their books. it was good motivation for jeonghan, but it left him feeling ill on the majority of days, skipping meals in order to cram in more revision sessions.

****

he didn’t want to be weak like his sister was.

****

she tried to implicitly tell him that throughout the years as well. 

****

all of those spontaneous walks through the hogwarts campus, he soon found out that they occurred a day after his sister had an incident with their parents. yes, she could have her pushy tendencies, but she genuinely cared for jeonghan, and saw the innocent, naive, frail child within the shell of the adolescent. they both were admittedly dependent on their family, and that could possibly be a part of their downfall. but then again, they don’t know much better than the life that they’ve lived. 

****

as he laid upon the grass of the main courtyard of the school, jeonghan wished that he could sink into the mud and disappear from society, seeing as they clearly didn’t want him around. it was starting to get lonely, and he couldn’t take a step anywhere without seeing someone that he’s affected. 

****

in the dormitory, minhyuk looked straight through him before climbing into bed, as if the champion was a mere ghost.

****

in his classes, jisoo and seungcheol always seemed to stare him down, their gazes leaving third degree burns on his neck.

****

in the library, mingyu’s tearful presence suffocated jeonghan with guilt of his actions, as the younger barely spared him a passing glance. 

****

staring up at the hopeful clouds was the only pastime jeonghan could indulge in without becoming distracted by something he had done wrong. he wouldn’t be able to reflect on his actions if the people involved were flooding him with culpable emotions through their own body language. above him, the azure sky seemed endless, surrounding him calmingly in a loose bubble - unlike the thoughts that left him feeling claustrophobic. the cushion of grass supporting his head gently swayed in the breeze that slyly passed, cooling jeonghan down to a fairly perfect temperature. the day seemed so flawless, with a glowing sun brighter than any candle on earth, and a horizon so picturesque that it should be framed upon a gallery wall, so why did his situation have to be the parallel opposite? 

****

maybe it was the sun beating down onto his face, or maybe it was because someone was talking about him, but jeonghan felt his ears burning harshly and he imagined them to probably be an agonising shade of red to match his emotional pain curdling inside of him. 

****

he would admit that he’s made mistakes in the past, whether they are something small and easily forgiven, or something immoral and heartbreaking, and his brain was overflowing with guilt as each wrongdoing was recalled. from dropping his sunglasses into the sea as child and watching them float away, to crumbling multiple hearts in his fist within a mere couple of seconds, jeonghan knew that he was held accountable for his actions. nevertheless, it soon started to feel as if he could do nothing right. he would watch all the slytherin children open up letters from their parents, congratulating them whenever they receive an award or gain an achievement, whilst he was expected to believe that it was compulsory to get the achievement whether he truly desired to has his name printed onto the certificate or not. no well done presents, no congratulation cards - heck, jeonghan considered himself lucky if his christmas card didn’t say ‘get back to studying’. it left miniature cuts to evolve into gaping gashes internally.

****

of course it was therapeutic to watch the sky walk past on your own, the song of the blue birds lightening the atmosphere of the campus grounds. howbeit, jeonghan still felt as if most of him was missing, now that people slowly began to part ways with his ship, setting sail for apparent clear skies whilst he was stuck in the thunderous storm. these were people he had bonded with in his first year of hogwarts (where the pressure wasn’t demanded in enormous amounts).leisurely but surely, the twisted news of his actions would appear on the front cover of all the wizarding tabloids, leaving him to be reduced to the laughing stock of hogwarts.

****

something needed to change.

****

there was pieces missing from his puzzle, important pieces that made him who he was as a whole. people gave him those specific traits, and they were all distinctive no matter when down the line he was gifted with them. jeonghan knew that they were somewhere - they couldn’t be gone for good - nonetheless, they wouldn’t appear out of nowhere, for rewards do not work in that way.  rewards were designed to be earned, and jeonghan would flip the world upside down if it meant that he would be rewarded with the life he had before the tournament and even more on top of that.

****

he was constantly trying to impress the people around, he needed the approval of others to know that he is accepted.

****

because isn’t the approval of others the only path to self-pride?

****

at least, that was what jeonghan was always told.

****

jaggedly sighing, the slytherin boy knew that time was passing by quicker than a snitch, and that he had probably extended his break for longer than he originally planned. it was the final stretch, and his last chance to make things right. a tedious night of studying the majority of the school library was ahead of him, whilst other champions were probably having a party to celebrate their last task before the results would be announced. an aching in his heart flared up inside of his chest, sedating the speed in which he stood up. he knew what his heart was screaming out for. albeit, his mind was taking control. a collective of negative emotions were seeping from his seams, yet he had to stay composed, calm, and content. it wasn’t a choice of his own, either. he was forced to be this way.

****

yoons are not supposed to be weak, after all.

****

☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡

****

before, jeonghan used to assume that he had amazing stamina. he used to love running around the quidditch pitch on a sunday morning, breathing in the loamy scent of the dew as his cardiovascular system kept his body working in a steady pace. he remembered playing on sports teams throughout hogwarts, performing in excellence in magical and muggle sports in his spare time (which recently hasn’t been fairly often). he also knew that he was the most reliable student when it came to running messages about when no owls were in reach, sprinting from class to class in no time at all without feeling tired.

****

be that as it may, jeonghan still managed to find his lungs grasping onto every breath he took as he made his way through the maze, his legs turning into a pudding similar to a flan. 

****

each pathway seemed identical to the previous, the same green bushes with leaves that were beginning to fade under the roaring sun closing in around him. every turn left his mind a step closer to insanity, every thought to be processed through his brain ending up as a sloppy jumble of words as a result. the prickling heat mixed with his current mental state was a cocktail for a terrible time, and jeonghan couldn’t wait to see the end of it all. although he took a liking to the colour green due to his house, jeonghan was sure that by the end of this tournament, the hue would be at the top of his list of things that should be eliminated from this universe. there was just so much of it, and it was just one of many things can would contribute to him puking midway through the task if worse came to worst. 

****

it didn’t even feel like running anymore, now that his legs felt completely numb underneath him. he begged for something to arrive in front of him soon. he was starting to wander amongst his thoughts as well as the path of the maze, and that could only lead to no good whatsoever. 

****

his crazed hallucinations left him hearing voices, the monstrous laughs of hong jisoo and choi seungcheol - who clearly didn’t forgive him after his attendance to that damned party; the distressed shouts from his parents, drilling his self-esteem into the ground and closer towards the south pole; the pitiful cries of kim mingyu, who he dearly desired to hold close and be able to call his own. each inkling of a noise added to the jar of vexation steaming up inside of him. some noises were more vociferous than others, striking an agonising pain in several internal areas around his body. his irritation was clear in every stride he took, a stomp of his foot sounding like a mountain giant’s walk, and his face turning into a chilli pepper. 

****

no one seemed to care anymore.

****

no one worried about how yoon jeonghan was doing, or whether he was eating correctly, or if he got enough sleep the night before.

****

just because he was the prodigy of the yoon household, expected to succeed in all of his aspects in life, it didn’t mean that he was perfect. 

****

he wanted to scream; he wanted to cry; he wanted to rant. but no matter where he was, there would always be an eye watching, almost as if he was on a reality tv show at every hour of the day. 

****

howbeit, in the maze, no one but other champions were around to be bothersome and to eavesdrop on your coping methods. no one was there to expose you to the entirety of hogwarts and leave you as the laughing stock of the bunch. no one was there to leave you bombarded with discourteous messages, with no alohomora spell to free you from its permanent bars. jeonghan could do whatever his enervated heart yearned to undertake. it sounded like a dream to the slytherin, for there was so so much that he needed to tear away from his chest.

****

so you could tell that when he turned a corner and met a herd of doxys, who buzzed about the natural corridor with their thick coats of ebony hair wrapped around their skinny bones, jeonghan was ready to burn.

****

he cocked an eyebrow at the creatures, whipping out his wand rapidly before the poisonous fairies could lay one of their twenty fingers upon him. a steam engine would be jealous of the fury blazing out of jeonghan’s ears, fuelling him forward as the tip of his wand already began to flare cobalt sparks, inferring that the wizard and his weapon were truly halves of one whole spirit. the doxys let out a hiss, but they were no match for jeonghan at this moment in time.

****

“expulso!” he growled, aiming his wand at each attacking doxy, and watching them explode into specks of dust. if jeonghan was in the right mindset, he would stop to appreciate the satisfying particles float to the floor. but he’s not in the right mindset. so he carried on casting the spell.

****

“and this, i dedicate it to my beloved family, who always made me feel wanted in this world we call earth…” he smirked, a crowd of the evil pixies now unsuspectedly starting to form around him. “not!” another spark sprouted from the end of his trusted wand after he repeated the spell again, wiping out the next set of doxys that attempted to attack.

****

“how does it feel, mother? father? to know that your son is on the brink of insanity?” another bright light glimmered. “it must feel pretty damn amazing to know that you brought up a monster!” another cluster of doxys dead. “a monster that ruins everything in his path unintentionally, despite only wanting to do the best for you!”

****

the creatures started to become more vicious, causing jeonghan to pounce about on his toes to avoid the bites of the doxys’ tiny teeth. 

****

“i drain all of my magical energy just to gain approval from you, yet all you can say is ‘study harder’?” his wand began to fire itself up again with the encouragement of the spell repetition. “no wonder my sister cried to my face because of the torment.” more dust began to vanish into the humid air. “no wonder the yoon household are only known for their achievements, rather than the people behind them!”

****

“all of this pain and suffering will lead to probably nothing for me, and i will never be able to gain back the times i missed because i was trying to kiss up to you both!” doxys were dropping like fruit flies, realising that they had no chance against a yoon on fire. “how does it feel, mother, father, to know that you raised a robot rather than a wizard?!”

****

with one last scream of expulso, jeonghan watched each doxy obliterate into nothingness, proving the tiny monsters to be nothing worse than a dragonfly once he had let his frustration out onto them. inhaling and exhaling, he took in another deep breath of the summer air, hoping for his body to cool down after his outrage.

****

it felt so good to let the words flow out. 

****

although no one would hear them, it felt nice to speak to the wind, and to allow his words to live on through the breeze it dragged across the country. a smile clawed at his cheeks for a split second, before dropping like a dead flower when he realised that there was still more quests to conquer before he could reach the centre of the maze, where the trophy and his parents’ respect would be waiting for him. 

****

☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡

****

why could he hear footsteps?

****

of course, it could be a part of his imagination. the illusions that the sun painted in front of him could be a valid reason why he was becoming skeptical over some measly rustles. nonetheless, he was starting to find his feet again, and settle back into reality rather than melting in a hallucination formed by heat and distress. 

****

it could legitimately be anything; maybe another monster for him to fight off, in order to bring him a step closer to the trophy; maybe it was a professor coming to announce that the task had been cancelled, but a fantasy like that was the least likeliest to come true; maybe it was his cat, milk, coming to comfort him in his desperate time of need. he craved some time alone with milk, a moment to brush his fingers along the body of the pet, and for milk to purr in motivation for his owner.

****

unfortunately, jeonghan knew that his beloved cat appearing would be of a low probability of occurrence.

****

so, as jeonghan stopped in his tracks to listen carefully, he wondered to himself: what could the source of noise be?

****

“hello, jeonghan.”

****

spinning on his heel, the named boy knew that whoever the mysterious voice was, they weren’t necessarily impressed with him (but then, to be honest, who was impressed with jeonghan? certainly not anyone he knew). when their eyes met, jeonghan couldn’t fault his facial recognition skills, for it was clearly obvious who this boy was now that they were face to face with one another.

****

boo seungkwan. 

also known as the gossip central of hogwarts.

the boy that jeonghan told to shut up before the second challenge.

****

it was without a doubt that jeonghan wanted to dig a hole in the grass and hide underneath until the task was complete, but that would once again make him seem weak, and that is not the impression that people expect of him. so instead, he masked over his past emotions with a comforting smile, hoping for it to fool seungkwan - the king of poker faces - for just a few minutes.

****

“hey,” he replied, not fairly sure on what to say to the younger boy. 

****

maybe the awkward silence that bit onto their tongues was down to the fact that jeonghan was overly sensitive to his fellow champion before the mermaid encounter, because seungkwan could barely look jeonghan in the eyes as they awaited for someone to make the next move. bottles of anger and stress fizzing over was the main reason as to why the older slytherin may have snapped at seungkwan, but then again, how was seungkwan meant to easily interpret that? no one truly knows the secrets behind the yoon household, due to jeonghan being frightened of the reactions of others. they think he has it easy because of his family name, but little did they know that there’s a whole underside to the iceberg. 

****

seungkwan would usually be chatting at essay lengths about things he’s heard about the school to other students at hogwarts, so jeonghan knew that the dubious silence of mr boo had something to do with himself. he decided to take it upon himself to initiate a conversation, for this deafening silence would only fuel his trip to insanity more.

****

“how’s your path so far? have you encountered anything yet?”

****

seungkwan looked at jeonghan through the corner of his eye, his express coming across as emotionless as a still object. it was unusual for seungkwan to seem so blank faced, when in the school, he was praised for his tumultuous expressions. 

****

“no.” he sternly replied, shaking his head. “you’re the first thing - or person - i’ve seen in here. other than the endless bushes and what not, of course.”

****

why was seungkwan holding himself back so much? jeonghan could tell by the look on his soft face that seungkwan had so much more to spill out from him, yet there was a dam keeping it all inside. jeonghan knows that locking your emotions away behind closed doors never leaded to success - it was apparent from the consistent failures on his behalf throughout his life (not necessarily academically, however) - yet it was really perplexing as to why seungkwan was so hesitant to ramble on like his muscle memory desires. 

****

nevertheless, jeonghan didn’t want to fall into another hallucination amongst the quiet crunches of their footsteps, so he continued to spark up a conversation. 

****

“i chanced upon some doxys earlier. they’re pesky, but they weren’t much trouble.” 

****

it wasn’t technically a lie, but if it wasn’t for his temper tantrum earlier, those doxys would’ve been a handful to cope with on his own. 

****

“isn’t that wonderful?” seungkwan snarled, whilst sarcasm dripped from his lips. “as expected of you, i suppose.”

****

his smile faltered, and his eyes dropped to the floor in shame once the words escaped seungkwan’s lips, his pace decelerating as the negative thoughts congregated to his brain. 

****

_ oh. _

****

did he really come across like that? 

****

of course he always tried his best in every task without a doubt, reaching for the highest star possible each time. nonetheless,  the character that people saw on the outside was a complete parallel to the student jeonghan was as a whole. but people would never be able to come to understand the grief jeonghan gets dragged through each and every day from the people that he was supposed to love the most. words like seungkwan’s were typical, seeing as he could only see the exterior, just like the rest of the world - muggles and wizards alike. it’s just that hearing it aloud breaks jeonghan a little more each time, because that’s not him.

****

that’s not the person he intended to be. 

****

he’s not just another heartless monster born and bred in the yoon household. he’s yoon jeonghan, a highly praised academic student with a life still far ahead of him; a life that offers new friendships, a chance for relationships, and different paths for him to choose. albeit, his family think something different of him, and that’s what brings him down in a sense.

****

the way seungkwan perceived him was the same way people perceived his parents.

****

but he’s not like his parents. 

****

seungkwan noticed jeonghan’s drop in mood after a short moment, which gave them time to think for themselves, and let out a guilty sigh, turning around to face the older slytherin. 

****

“look, i’m sorry if i–”

****

a hiss was heard in the distance, unbeknownst to seungkwan, followed by a sentence in parseltongue. jeonghan tore his eyes away from seungkwan to see a large snake-like creature, parting its lips and rising upwards, its red eyes set on finding its prey. crawling along the floor by his elbows was a short boy, dressed in black and blue (that being his uniform and his skin), screaming in pain.

****

he grasped seungkwan’s shoulders, cutting his sentence short as he spun the younger around to face the monstrosity occurring in front of them. 

****

“is that—“

****

“lee jihoon, yeah.” jeonghan confirmed, both of their eyes widening as they took in the details of the sight in front of them. jeonghan started to move towards the ravenclaw, not even thinking before his legs started to take action. “and i think he could use some help with the basilisk.”

****

seungkwan seemed like a deer caught in headlights when jeonghan stopped in his tracks, keeping his eyes focused on either the fellow slytherin or the injured student. it was almost like he was thinking it over, whether he wanted to help jihoon or just leave him for dead. 

****

or maybe he was thinking about why jeonghan was doing this.

****

why a prodigy like himself isn’t ignoring the situation at hand and sprinting towards the centre, his heart only enrapt about winning the tournament. 

****

he couldn’t question seungkwan’s pause, however, because he didn’t want to be one to assume things of the latter. he didn’t want to be like those who think of him that way. 

****

assumptions lead to no good. 

****

soon enough, seungkwan managed to bring himself to move towards jihoon, who moaned in agony as jeonghan tried to usher the younger boy forward.

****

“i’ll take the basilisk, you go help jihoon.” jeonghan instructed, lifting up his cloak to act as a shield for his eyes. 

****

“but—“

****

“don’t worry, i speak parseltongue. i’ll be fine, now go!”

****

jeonghan spared no time to check if the younger slytherin was actually cooperating with his eyes - let alone actually the supposed ‘pureblood snake’ - when he made a beeline for the basilisk. finding his footing was difficult when it was mandatory that he was to hold up his cloak over his face. luckily, the article of clothing was long enough to cover the entirety of his body, meaning that he would not get petrified by the serpent when it sensed that he could be a threat. his body tensed when the basilisk huffed, slithering further forward towards jeonghan. 

****

he considered himself lucky that he was fluent in parseltongue - mostly because it wouldn’t have ended well with his parents if he was the odd one out in the family. he remembered his parents keeping a cobra permanently in a tank beside the leather settees, all of which situated in the living room of their home. its purpose was to detect whether their children were parselmouths or not, for the language had been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. his sister was quick to respond to the conversations that the snake provided, nevertheless, it took jeonghan a short while to figure out that the snake was in fact speaking to him. a fuzzy feeling erupted like a broken cocoon filled with butterflies from within his stomach, and his head was racing with questions, each one competing to be spoken like a race. it felt extraordinary to feel respected for once, and jeonghan always wanted to bottle up that emotion in order to save it for a rainy day.

****

he regrets not doing so at this point in time. 

****

he hears the hiss of the basilisk, and winced in fear of what was to come.

****

jeonghan, deciding to take on the challenge of confronting the monster head-on, cleared his throat from behind the cloak. “ _ eembo eetayar ohos, ai eembo soskemse ees eetayar seeye. _ ” (don’t hurt us, i don’t want to hurt you.)

****

it almost seemed as if the basilisk chuckled to jeonghan’s ice breaker, adding to the slytherin’s already bubbling frustration. “ _ ai eembo tuosniesto ees efalsotlo selenehcesarish _ .” (i don’t like to follow rules.)

****

“ _ cosksenyacks ayeeresa eembo meingiyus ohos. _ ” (then please don’t bother us.)

****

lathering up its lips, the basilisk unravelled its tongue, exposed the pointed corners of the muscle that could easily shovel through jeonghan’s skin with dexterity. “ _ eesto sakiay sayokiso safilafohs hes eishetso! _ ” (but your friend looks so tasty!)

****

short of a thought, jeonghan smirked behind his cape, grabbing ahold of his wand and recalling his knowledge on the serpents. “accio sword of slytherin!” he casted, green sparkles appearing around him as the weapon appeared directly in front of his eyes. it was identical to the sword he had summoned in the second task, except emerald wire hooked itself around the intricate patterns of the handle, symbolising the house in which the sword was dedicated to. it was a known fact that anyone can kill a basilisk, but only if you thrust a sword through the roof of their agape mouth - nevertheless, it was only known to you if you decided to read up on the creature beforehand, which was fortunate for jeonghan. raising the sword into the air and hearing the muted gasp of the serpent, jeonghan took a few steps closer. “ _ ai olasah eerseimnah doh seeyee eetayar ayeh eekesmos. _ ” (i will attack if you hurt my friend.)

****

“ _ hos seiy psam sah! _ ” (try and stop me!) the basilisk tried to mask its fear of the sword through its threatening words, but the parselmouth wasn’t fooled whatsoever. with a prosperous lunge, jeonghan propelled the sword forward, stopping his hand from moving any further forward when the tip of the silver weapon brushed against the entrance of the serpent’s mouth. he could hear a clamorous gulp coming from twelve o’clock. “ _ …sa. _ ” (...oh.)

****

making his snarl distinguishable to the basilisk through the tone of his voice, the yoon prodigy made his final mark on the snake, hearing the soft whimpers of the monstrous creature. “ _ cursmenahe ahsimfey. _ ” (leave now.)

****

“ _ ssah, keeshe. _ ” (yes, sir.) abruptly, the basilisk replied, withering down to the floor and sauntering away. neither jeonghan nor the beast made eye contact as the large snake slithered past the trio of students and down the bush corridors, which was a humongous relief for jeonghan.

****

when jeonghan turned back around, letting his cloak go limp behind him, he was met with two ajar mouths, expecting to be fed with information as to why the basilisk left so swiftly.

****

to be fairly honest, jeonghan wasn’t too sure himself as to why the serpent was so eager to depart from their ‘battle’, because many of the books he has studied on the creatures admit that they are not ones to back out of a fight - especially against a wizard. maybe it was because he happened to be a parselmouth? he did remember noticing the fact that basilisks were extremely loyal to parselmouths, which could be linked to why the serpent was so obedient when jeonghan unsheathed the sword. 

****

nevertheless, none of them had the time to ponder over such manners, and they had to carry on striving forward rather than agonising about the past.

****

after jihoon reassured them too many times that he was healthy and well enough to complete the challenge (even with an extra “are you sure that you’re sure that you’re sure?” from seungkwan, which made the elder two giggle), they watched the ravenclaw stride forward (well, limp with his bandaged ankle) in his own direction towards the trophy. 

****

jeonghan didn’t want seungkwan to bid farewell to him just yet, there were still fossils of words buried deep within the older slytherin’s brain that were going to decompose into forgotten thoughts if he didn’t release them now. they were both dying to escape the maze, but there was still things jeonghan was left to untie with people - seungkwan specifically. rather than saving it for a later date, why not spill his emotions out to seungkwan now, like how the younger boy spills out his gossip to the nearest bunch of students when he uncovers it from behind closed doors?

so just before seungkwan could make his escape to the left of the three-way junction, jeonghan took a leap for the younger’s wrist, holding onto it as if his fingers were bracelets. he wasn’t going to shy away now - not physically, not mentally, and not emotionally.

****

“we need to talk.”

****

the younger seemed shell-shocked when jeonghan approached him so suddenly, almost conflicted as to what to do. jeonghan allowed there to be a moment of silence for seungkwan to process the situation before he would begin talking, albeit, the jeju boy parted his lips at the exact same time as himself. “i’m sorry for what i said.”

****

furrowing their eyebrows also in synchronization, both boys were bewildered completely. jeonghan reckoned that it would be best for him to speak up first. “wait, what are you sorry about?” he announced, confusion radiating rapidly off of his being.

****

“for...i don’t know, but i know i said something and… the look on your face changed. that, and i also was kind of cold to you for no reason so… i’m sorry.”

****

softening his face, jeonghan acknowledged what seungkwan had said with great relief. no matter what people said about the younger boy, it was without a doubt that he was one of the most compassionate boys in the whole of hogwarts, an atmosphere of joy diffusing from his body like an expensive cologne for everyone to smell. knowing that he truly meant no harm, and that it was a spur of the moment attack, it showed the true colours of boo seungkwan behind the sarcastic, silly, sly side of him that is usually perceived of him. 

****

“i forgive you, by the way.” he added, drawing their attention back to the conversation. “was this all you wanted to talk about?”

****

awkwardly shuffling his weight between his legs, jeonghan allowed the talk to fade to silence. why couldn’t he think of a response? there was so many thoughts in his mind, all screaming to be let out from the cage of his skull in order for the world to truly understand what jeonghan was thinking. but that could be dangerous. so many emotions compressed into measly sentences that would leave jeonghan losing all sense of control in himself. 

****

tumbleweeds could grow in his throat from how dry it happened to be, for he continuously failed to combine simple words to create some sort of sentence, and seungkwan was starting to notice that too. he was pretty sure that he looked like a complete idiot with his mouth opening and closing like a talking treasure chest from a children’s cartoon, and if he were in the younger boy’s position, he would crack up in laughter at how stupid he himself was acting. 

****

howbeit, seungkwan didn’t crack.

****

in fact, he spoke instead, giving jeonghan some time to conjure up his feelings into realistic words.

****

“i was wrong about you,” he began, clearing his throat to indicate that he could possibly start rambling (which wasn’t unusual in his books). “i thought that you were selfish? self centred? i’m not sure what’s the exact word but- for a while - a long while really - i thought that you always lived in your own bubble. choosing to accept a select few, keeping to yourself, and only having your goals in mind. i thought that in this tournament, nothing else would matter to you. i mean, you wouldn’t even talk to me and that was before the task began. but well, seeing you today… seeing you help jihoon out. that. that really surprised me. because i thought that maybe you wouldn’t care, because all that was on your mind would be the trophy since… since you’re always snatching every chance you get to impress and collect achievements. but i see that you’re not that low, and you actually do have a heart so… i just wanted you to know. and i’m sorry.”

****

“but… you’re not wrong.” after finally finding his words, jeonghan spoke up after seungkwan concluded his speech, taking some time to piece together what to say within his mind (because there was a lot of information to process). “i am pretty selfish. and i do want to win this tournament, so so badly, because i want to impress my parents. even now, all i can think about is what i have to do to get to the cup as fast as i can, but i have to fix this thing with you first and the more time i waste, the more i’m freaking out.”

****

“well if you’re in such a hurry, go get the trophy first?” stepping aside and pointing behind him, seungkwan questioned jeonghan’s logic. it made sense, because why would he complain about wanting to win, but not actually move anywhere? jeonghan wasn’t too sure of that himself. “i don’t get why winning this tournament to impress your parents is so important to you, but don’t let me hold you back.”

****

jeonghan paused, scrunching his face up like a paper ball. surely he heard that wrong. there’s no way that anyone could say that. who doesn’t want to win the approval of their family? “wait...are you saying that...this isn’t important to you?”

****

the younger boy shrugged, “not really? i’m not gonna lie, this did stress me out a lot, especially at the beginning. but i came to a conclusion of my own the day before and honestly? winning isn’t really what i want. my parents will be impressed if i survive really.” he let out a quick chuckle to lighten the mood, but once he noticed that jeonghan’s face remained focused on the topic, he continued to speak. “besides, i think i’ve received far more important things just by being a champion.”

****

jeonghan was at a loss; a loss for words, a loss for thoughts, a loss for everything. he had been so caught up in the competition that he didn’t even come to realise the other things speculating around the event. but then again, the whole purpose of the tournament was to get the trophy and win the competition, so why didn’t seungkwan seem to care that much? why does he enjoy the smaller things that don’t matter as much than that feeling of completion and relief when you cross the finish line?

****

“far more important things? what’s more important than winning? and impressing your parents?”

****

the capricorn huffed, sneering at the libra in annoyance. “okay, first of all, stop thinking about impressing your parents all the time. what are you, five?”

****

folding his arms, jeonghan growled at the younger. how was seungkwan - a normal slytherin student with gregarious friends and a loving family (he remembered seeing the boy walking around ollivanders, bushy-tailed and bright-eyed as he smiled with his parents. jeonghan was on his own that day, his parents were too occupied as usual) - able to apprehend the excruciating pressures that he was carrying on a daily basis? it wasn’t possible. “you don’t understand. you don’t come from a pureblood lineage.” 

****

now it was his turn to see if seungkwan was taken aback by his words. fortunately, seungkwan didn’t really appear stupefied by the sentence, so jeonghan took that as a sign to open the gates to his mind once again.

****

“anyway,” he continued, scratching at his bicep as a sign of insecurity. “i was born a yoon i... i don’t have a choice. if you don’t follow the tide, you’ll be left to drown. i watched my other relatives suffocate under their ferocious actions and demands, and it’s...scarring.” he took a shaky breath, and then bowed his head in sorrow. “this is almost like my last chance. the last chance to swim through the rapids and prove my worth. they tell me that i need to earn my place in the yoon family, i guess that’s why i exhaust myself trying to catch up to their level. i-i just want them to feel…” it took a short moment to wander about his heavy head in search for the correct wording, jeonghan waving his hands around unconsciously to announce his struggle. “...vainglorious of me.”

****

“to feel what?” 

****

“proud. it means proud.” 

****

it felt alleviating to let his feelings run free in the fresh air, as now his stomach was free of bubbling bile, and his head was starting to breathe in the oxygen pumping through his body. knowing seungkwan, he could never let his empathetic side go to waste when someone was in need of it, and he could already see the cogs turning in the younger’s head as he inhaled the information, and was preparing himself to exhale his response.

****

“this sounds terrible coming from someone like me, and i swear i don’t mean to be mean-” he stopped himself for a second, leaving jeonghan hanging on the edge, awaiting an answer. “-but you need to get a new family.” 

before jeonghan could even slide a word in edgeways, seungkwan raised his hand. “no, wait just: hear me out first. from what i can see- or hear,” he corrected himself, “you’re worthy of every title and achievement you’ve accomplished. i’m not saying this because you’re a yoon and you’re expected to, but because i think you’ve earned it.

****

“you never use your family name as a surefire guarantee that everything will come easy. i know- heck, i’m sure everyone knows how hard you work, how much effort you put in to earn those titles. you didn’t cheat or pull tricks up your sleeves to get what you want. you earned every little thing fair and square. and if that doesn’t speak enough about everything you’ve acquired over the years, then… then your family needs a reality check.”

****

he rubbed the pads of his thumbs upon jeonghan’s shoulders, letting his hands rest there as a sign of comfort for the older boy. looking the libra directly in the eyes, seungkwan allowed some time to pass in order for jeonghan to collect the information together in his head - which, in his case, had just been scattered along the floor for him to accumulate, due to the expeditious explanations seungkwan seemed used to giving. 

****

“you deserve to be proud of yourself, jeonghan, and you don’t need anyone else to validate that feeling for you.”

****

jeonghan felt his breath hitch at those words. he’s heard them before from teachers whenever he’s doubted his abilities, but he always assumed it was down to the fact that they were paid to hype up their students and make them feel of worth. it didn’t seem to be genuine enough to him. but now, hearing it from the lips of a student - who is very much in the same situation as him challenge-wise - it sounds like a whole other record to him, one with more impact, and more memorable lyrics. 

****

“so,” seungkwan concluded, flashing a small smile to jeonghan. “you’re good? we’re good?”

****

“yeah,” jeonghan smiled back - which happened to be the first time he’s authentically smiled since minhyuk abandoned him as a friend. “yeah, we are. and i will be, hopefully.”

****

“great! then i guess this is where-”

****

“thank you, seungkwan.” before the named boy could move any further away, jeonghan expressed his gratitude by pulling the younger slytherin into a warm-hearted hug, which the latter relaxed tranquilly into. 

****

seungkwan was so right about everything that he said that it physically hurt. his family were playing a twisted game with all of its members, poking thorns into them for every wrong thing that they did - no matter how minor it may have been. 

****

he remembered the first time he felt the fury of his family’s honour, when he came home with a grade b in herbology. the first year at the time was so ecstatic with his mark, because he managed to beat minhyuk in the exam - who only just scraped a pass mark. however, when he walked through those doors and handed the piece of paper to his parents, his entire world and everything he thought about being a yoon was flipped on its head. shouts were relentlessly released, hands were carelessly thrown, tears were noticeably flowing. he was fortunate enough to find out that it couldn’t get any worse for him in that sense, but he was confused when everyone at school was praising him for his herbology grade, whilst his parents acted as if he had been given a fail. from that moment onwards, jeonghan had learnt his lesson, and by studying until he passed out, he was able to get some of the best marks in the school in order to make his parents satisfied - although mentally, he couldn’t bare to take it anymore. he couldn’t bare the thought of reliving that nightmarish event once again. 

****

he had the choice to tell this to seungkwan, but enough had been said. he didn’t want to be seen as digging for sympathy, for that’s not the reaction that he wants.

****

if he had learnt anything from today, it was to not bottle up any of his emotions, because the more there are compressed, the more likely it is to explode and harm you.

****

so after clearly recalling each moment of that flashback, feeling each bruise appear physically and mentally on his figure, jeonghan allowed his sorrow to take control. 

****

it began with a shiver, feeling the first cold droplet glaze his cheekbone. then, he started to sob heavily into seungkwan’s shoulder, feeling the patch of water slowly grow larger by the second, like a rose blooming in a timelapse. circles were smoothly drawn on his back as the streams of tears became thicker, and he felt warm inside, knowing that seungkwan was there to comfort him. an abundance of ‘thank you’s and ‘sorry’s quaked through his lips, just loud enough to be in earshot for the younger boy, thankfully.

****

he needed to find his self-confidence, because he shouldn’t have to rely on his parents to approve of what he’s achieved. it’s his achievements! it will only impact him in the long-term, not his sister, not his aunties and uncles, not his parents. so why should he care about other people’s opinions?

****

seungkwan was right. he deserves to be proud of himself, no matter what ends up happening to him.

****

now, until he could confront anyone else about his situation, jeonghan melted into the comfort of seungkwan’s arms, because it was exactly what he needed, and it seemed that seungkwan was more than glad to supply. 

****

☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡

****

sometimes, a hug can speak a thousand words.

****

it spoke a lot more than that to jeonghan, however.

****

as he strolled calmly through the sunkissed maze corridors, with his hands resting in his trouser pockets and his head gazing up to the sky, jeonghan took a moment to come to terms with past events. his headache is slowly dying down, by happy chance, and his tears from earlier have now dried to his skin, the marks glowing in the sun rays beaming down from above. it was almost like an omen, telling him that everything was going to be okay from now on.

****

he needed that boost of motivation from seungkwan, because for years upon years, he would impugn his skills just because his parents would not think fondly of his grades, or his awards, or his sporting scores. he was always pushing to do better, but not in a positive light. he was pushing himself to an extent where his brain could barely take information in anymore, and it was causing mental harm. 

****

maybe there was a reason why his family so desperately crave his success in every little thing he pursues, possibly involving a long backstory that he would have to listen to with an easeful mind and a cup of peppermint tea, but it was just baffling as to why they would drive him to the brink of insanity just for a good reputation. 

****

can he not be his own person?

****

is he only destined to be just another yoon?

****

jeonghan wants to disagree, but his future is currently unclear in his eyes.

****

turning around the corner, jeonghan sighed as he hoped for a good sign to come along and help him sease the day. nonetheless, by the looks of what was in front of him, it seemed like a parallel thought to what jeonghan desired. a young male of around the same height as jeonghan leaned against the bushes, the skinny branches poking at his cheeks and neck. upon his head was a crown of soft maroon hair with baby strands dangling onto his forehead. sharp cat-like eyes scouted the area around him, sniffing out anything suspicious with his button nose. he tugged onto his tender, thin bottom lip with his pearl teeth, and it seemed as if it was an odd way of keeping the male occupied. the school uniform was stitched around his arms, legs, and torso, bearing the mustard and umber along the rim of the jumper and the across the totality of the tie. he seemed unfazed by the soundtrack of the maze - the shouts, the cries, the roars - and, like jeonghan previously, focused on the passing horizon and the thoughts in his head.

****

how did hong jisoo get into the maze?

****

he remembered rightly hearing that no other students except for the champions were allowed to enter the maze, and the rest would be forced to wait outside for further news of the events, as they did not want anyone cheating on the premises. it was made loud and clear to each student in the great hall by albus dumbledore himself, surrounded by the department of magical games and sports. you could tell that the appearance of hong jisoo - a typical hogwarts student who jeonghan wasn’t necessarily on the good side of at the moment - baffled jeonghan to his core. 

****

somehow sensing the slytherin’s presence, jisoo turned his head and smirked at jeonghan. 

****

“well, mr yoon. long time no see, am i not wrong?” as he stepped closer, jeonghan reached into his back pocket, and held onto his wand, not daring to pull it out just yet. 

****

“nice to see you too, jisoo.” jeonghan decided to play into whatever game jisoo was desiring to play, because it could possibly lead him closer to a chance to get rid of him from his path. 

****

jisoo quickened his pace, and ended up a few feet apart from the libra. his eyes spoke for him, glaring straight through jeonghan as if he was a mere pane of glass. 

****

“look, jisoo, i’m so sorry for everyt–”

****

“sorry isn’t going to fix my heart, jeonghan.” jisoo cut him short, “not when you’ve already shattered into a million pieces!” the vocal chords inside the hufflepuff’s throat strained as his volume increased, frightening the older slytherin. “you don’t deserve happiness, not when you steal my own and leave me with nothing but the tears in my eyes when i see you with another guy!”

****

“please, let me explai–”

****

“you don’t deserve a chance to free yourself, yoon jeonghan. either way, you’ll still be trapped by something - something like your parents.”

****

jeonghan could scarcely keep up with jisoo and all of his agonising words. he just wanted to get his point across, because he wanted to make things right again with the hufflepuff and his boyfriend. but, something didn’t seem completely right. “how do you know about my parents?”

****

jisoo cackled in a way that made him sound like a typical disney villain. “that’s for me to know, and for you to find out. but let’s be real here, jeonghan: your parents are never going to be happy with you as a wizard. you will never be their perfect son, even you can tell that they favour your sister over you!”

****

jeonghan knew this whole situation was weird, because no one but his relatives - and now seungkwan - had been told about his family problems, so the slytherin felt his headache compress his brain again as he tried to figure out why jisoo had this knowledge.

****

“you are merely a shell of a wizard - in fact, you are a waste of magical energy. wizards such as myself could be better off with your abilities than a man who fails in everything he does. whether it be herbology or securing a date after the ball, you can never succeed! what a damn shame! maybe it’s a good thing that you said no to me, because wouldn’t be able to bear spending the rest of my life with such an arrogant catastrophe as yourself.”

****

then something hit jeonghan.

****

jisoo hasn’t once mention seungcheol, his adorn boyfriend whom he cannot live without. there’s never a moment in the day when jisoo doesn’t talk about seungcheol to anyone. he talks about how seungcheol brings him a bagel every morning to his dormitory, so that he doesn’t have to move a muscle to have a bite to eat; he talks about how seungcheol plans the most magical of dates for him, whether it be a picnic with positive pixies or a theatre show by the holograms of hogwarts; he talks about how seungcheol would disobey the rules of the school in order to comfort jisoo in the middle of night when a horrific dream slotted into his nightly sleep. jisoo chatted about his boyfriend so much around campus that people have to tell him to shut up in order to get some peace and quiet! 

****

if this was the real jisoo, he would be talking on behalf of his boyfriend as well as himself, acknowledging seungcheol through every step of the process. the fact that this jisoo hasn’t even mentioned anything about seungcheol once rang alarm bells in jeonghan’s head.

****

“you aren’t jisoo.” 

****

“jeonghan, you are just a—!” 

****

the slytherin’s words stopped jisoo in his tracks, and something changed within him. he seemed to get more angry than cocky, and it was obvious. 

****

“so you’re delusional as well? that just adds another reason as to why you—“

****

“you aren’t real, you aren’t the jisoo everyone knows and that one person loves.”

****

the firepuff scoffed, folding his arms like a pretzel. “you can’t be mentally right in the head, yoon jeonghan. if so, i might as well put you out of your misery, shouldn’t i?”

****

jeonghan didn’t really pay much attention to what jisoo was talking about, although, he was ready to move away if the ‘boy’ tried to do anything to harm him.

****

what he was more focused on was figuring out what is actually going on. 

****

obviously, jeonghan already knows that the creature in front of him was not jisoo, it never was jisoo, and it will never be jisoo. albeit, jeonghan just had to figure out what creature was using jisoo as a scapegoat for jeonghan’s downfall. could it be a dementor using jisoo’s soul to take jeonghan’s own? could it be a dragon using a transfiguration spell to disguise itself as the hufflepuff? or could it be…

****

...a boggart.

****

how did it not occur to him before? jeonghan may fear his parents, but truly, he feared the disapproval of others as a whole. using his parents would’ve made it too obvious, so by the boggart disguising itself as jisoo - a boy who can help spread rumours as the secret snake he is like wildfire - it would’ve left jeonghan perplexed, giving it time to attack! 

****

it’s so obvious now!

****

luckily jeonghan looked up and out of his thoughts when he did, for the boggart’s wand was pointing directly at his head.

****

“crucio!” it screamed, causing jeonghan to stop, drop, and roll, missing the spell by the skin of his teeth.

****

he managed to lift his own wand up in time to catch ‘jisoo’ when he least expected it, turning around and audibly gasping when he noticed the spark flickering on the end of the magical stick. “riddikulus!”

****

and just like that, the boggart was transfigured. in jisoo’s place was now a baby deer, who appeared to not know how to walk properly, and jeonghan had to admit: it was very cute.

****

during his revision on the various creatures of the wizarding world, the slytherin learnt that laughter was the kryptonite of the boggarts, for their main focus is to scare the living daylights of the victim. therefore, jeonghan let out a hearty laugh at how adorably stupid ‘jisoo’ the deer looked as it tried to find its way around the maze. every time it fell down, jeonghan raised his laughter, and gosh, it felt so good to allow the endorphins flow freely through his veins after the traumatic experiences that had occurred since the beginning of the tri-wizard tournament. in fact, jeonghan was cracking up so hard that joyful tears started to prickle at the ducts of his eyes. 

****

before he knew it, the boggart started to dissolve into auburn particles, gently floating along beside the breeze like loose feathers. jeonghan couldn’t stop himself from grinning, because he just defeated not just a boggart, but an army of doxys and a basilisk one after the other! 

****

is this that prideful sentiment seungkwan was telling him about a short moment ago? 

****

deciding on sparing a moment to take the situation in, jeonghan idled his palms on his knees, inhaling large breaths to restore his respiration levels back to normal. in a moment, he was going to take a left, and hopefully be near the glistening trophy. it seemed like a fantasy to hold that trophy between his fingers, but he could never understand why his parents only bothered about the end result, when the journey was an entire novel itself? 

****

natheless, the wizarding gods above determined that he wasn’t going to gain his parents’ approval today, for in his ear, a warm voice - resembling what a cappuccino would sound like if it had vocal chords - whispered harshly into his ear as he stood up straight.

****

_ “it’s not over just yet, mr yoon.” _

****

and up jeonghan flew.

****

up, up, up into the clouds. 

****

when his body was ejected higher into the sky, everything that was surrounded him minimised instantly, as if they were his pet ants. he could see figures everywhere in the maze, all at different points, fighting through their own struggles. jeonghan had to hold onto his glasses in order to at least attempt to identify the young men running between the bushes. he could see two boys crowding around another, who happened to be lying still amongst the grass for some unexplained reason; he noticed one holding thoroughly onto a boy who jeonghan didn’t recognise at all from previous tasks (maybe it was a boggart, but jeonghan wasn’t too sure about that); he noticed two other boys, running around aimlessly in their secluded parts of the maze, hoping to find some hope in their scavenger hunt for the trophy. 

****

some would say that jeonghan had failed, seeing as he was the first come out of the maze. but in his eyes, he was the first to see the trophy (despite being quite a distance away from it). 

****

as he began to feel the effects of gravity upon his body, jeonghan grabbed ahold of his wand for the final time in the tri-wizard tournament, and pointed it to the patch of land where he was soon to land.

****

“spongify!” 

****

it felt like he had landed on a bouncy castle rather than a slab of concrete when he reached the ground, and he ended up rebounding like a trampolinist until the floor beneath him began to settle down again. it felt squishy against his fingertips, a walkway of gravel-covered stress balls underneath his body until the spell wanted to wear off. 

****

people rushed over to him to badger him, wondering if he was alright or if he needed medical attention, to which he used up the leftover euphoria within him to cachinnate, running through the previous five minutes all over again in his head - from the whisper in his ear through to him falling through the candy floss clouds. if he had the choice, there was no doubt in his mind that he would do it all over again.

****

amongst the crowds of people, a middle-aged woman stood firmly, casting an emotionless expression over to the young slytherin. she stood out in the crowd to jeonghan, and his heart dropped a little when they made eye contact. everyone noticed who she was to him, and parted a way for her to walk through, jeonghan bringing himself to his feet within the duration of those actions.

****

“hey look ma, i made it!” he grinned at her, hoping that maybe she could crack a smile for once. but her shell remained as strong as ever.

****

“where’s the trophy, jeonghan?” was the first thing she said to him, “is one of the teachers holding it for you?”

****

her son anxiously cackled, itching his nape as he tried to avoid eye contact. “well, about that...i didn’t get the trophy in the end.”

****

“you didn’t win?!”

****

this wasn’t an unexpected welcome for jeonghan, he knew this was coming from the home his feet left the maze ground. it was typical of his family to answer in that tone, but he wasn’t going to cower away from them in fear anymore.

****

“no i didn’t, but i actually had a lot of fun!” the libra jumped about, clearly enjoying the memories being rewinded and played again in his mind. 

****

his mother narrowed her eyes, her fingers digging into her palms in frustration. “fun does not matter in the real world, jeonghan. it doesn’t matter whether you kissed twenty guys or if you pooped your pants in that maze. you said to us that you were going to get that trophy, and you know what we think of failures in this prestigious—“

****

“i don’t care.”

****

she looked as if she had just witnessed the death of someone in front of her eyes. blinking a couple of times to process his words, his mum growled again. “pardon me? what did you just say to your mother?”

****

“i. don’t. care!” he repeated, emphasising each of his words by enlarging the area of his mouth on every syllable. “i’ve realised something during this tournament, something that i wish i could’ve come to terms with years ago. why should i need your approval for everything, when i am my own person? i should not allow you to make me feel like a piece of garbage when i know that i worked my butt off to get these awards for myself. i should be allowed to feel prideful of my life, and i should be able to take my mistakes as a learning experience rather than a disappointment.

****

“this family has raised a generation of robots rather than wizards, who can only think about the academic side of life rather than the social side. they do not care about anyone’s mental health - not even if it affects our grades, because then we would get the blame for slacking off! - and it hurts us in the long-term.

****

“i know i won’t be able to change your mind completely now, but you have to realise that this isn’t the person i want to be proud of. today i killed an army of doxys, i forced a basilisk to submit to my orders, and i banished a boggart! all on my own! i am proud of the journey that i took, and the way i conquered the challenges that i had to face. that’s the person i want you to be proud of: a son with good motives, a positive outlook on life, and great sportsmanship. awards may look nice on paper, but i believe that the way you come across in reality is a more important aspect in any part of society, and i want you to believe that too, mother, or else i’m not too sure if i’ll want to be a yoon anymore.”

****

his words were a choker around her throat, holding her speechless - and jeonghan was glad that he had such an impact that his mother had to take a moment to think over the speech jeonghan just gave. he had high hopes for her response, because he wanted to make a mark on their family: the first yoon to proudly fail (well, not necessarily fail. he succeeded in many things throughout the competition, it was just one task that he floundered with, and that was grabbing ahold of a metal ornament). clearing a path for oxygen and her words to pass through in her throat, his mother came to a conclusion.

****

“i cannot believe that you have the decency to say that you want to leave your family for the sake of your wellbeing, it is a bit rude of you to say so, jeonghan.” she began, “but, we have realised over the past few months how you - and how your sister used to - have to be taken to the infirmary more often, and despite your grades being higher than ever before, i notice that you’re falling down the same hole that i sank into - the one that affects your mental health.” jeonghan could notice his mother choking up a little bit, as she so carefully tried to keep her face as stern as ever. “we thought that you wouldn’t get to that stage in life, we thought that you were stronger than you really were, and i hate my past self for inflicting pain into you, because that just made the situation even worse. i really do hate myself for it, jeonghannie. therefore, me and your father will still push you to get those awards to keep the reputation of the yoon family higher than before, but we need to learn where to draw the line.”

****

before she would - for some reason - ‘embarrass’ herself in public by sobbing her eyes out, jeonghan attacked his mother with a comforting hug, fairly similar to the one seungkwan held the slytherin in after they defeated the basilisk.

****

“i am sorry, jeonghan. i love you.”

****

he smiled widely into her shoulder, “i love you too, ma.”

****

things seemed to be looking up for jeonghan now, relieved to know that his parents were finally ready to accept the fact that they were devils to him for the past few years. it felt so relieving to have her cuddling him like a baby again, and to know that they will now be open for business whenever jeonghan felt upset, or content, or anything in between.

****

the crowd cheered for the reconciliation of the yoon family, and jeonghan was pretty sure he could hear minhyuk shouting in victory as well (which was fantastic news!). 

****

now, there was only one more person jeonghan needed to properly confront and bring back into his life.

****

it was just a matter of time until said person exits the maze.

****

☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡☆彡

****

“hey, mingyu.” jeonghan called out, finally finding the boy situated by the docks of the great lake. he was just aimlessly staring out into the waters, watching each wave roll past and seamlessly transition into the next. some would find it as fun as seeing paint dry, but jeonghan luckily had some common ground with mingyu in this sector. the named boy didn’t turn around when jeonghan spoke. “mingyu, please talk to me.”

****

“what do you want, jeonghan?” it was clear that he was annoyed by the older, and jeonghan didn’t blame him whatsoever. he was annoyed at himself for following through with minhyuk’s apparently ‘fool-proof’ plan. 

****

“look, gyu, i cannot tell you how sorry i am in words, because i would be standing here for a good number of years constantly repeating the same words over and over again.” he stumbled over to mingyu’s side, even though the younger still seemed unfazed about his presence. “but, i promise you that the minute i stepped out my door, i realised that you were more than just another gryffindor.

****

“you made me feel emotions that i had never felt before that night, and the night itself felt more magical than any being in this school. everything you do to appease is genuine, and you’re just so cute and adorable and just a spectacular person in general. managing to make me forget about any of my worries for a night is an achievement, and for that, i am truly grateful.

****

“i regret breaking your heart, and i want to be the one to fix it again. i want to be the one that studies late into the night with you before our final exams, falling asleep on your lap because it feels cozier than any cushion hogwarts could provide. i want to be the one that holds your hand when we graduate, and hugs you and kisses you like i will never see you again. i want to be the one that wakes up beside you every morning, and for it to feel like a fantasy that i get to be with you, kim mingyu. i want to be your everything, because you are already my everything. 

****

“i will do anything to make it up to you - i’ll even fly on my broomstick to the nearest star and bring it back down to earth just for you! so please, mingyu, can i have a second chance?” 

****

jeonghan could feel his heart pounding in his  oesophagus, patiently waiting for the younger boy to respond. for almost a minute, the slytherin’s body went haywire, with his breath being less sturdy than ever before and his blood gushing through his veins quicker than the speed of light alongside the adrenaline, and it was all because of mingyu. even though it didn’t really show, he was so in love with mingyu, so much that it was one of the recurring pains within jeonghan that left him feeling so burdened every day and night. he found his safe place in mingyu’s arms, and jeonghan wasn’t too sure if he would be able to find anything similar in the rest of his lifetime. 

****

mingyu pivoted his head towards the anxious boy, and the first sign of ease was the smile that hooked onto mingyu’s lips. “you do speak a lot, hannie.”

****

“i do? did i overdo it?”

****

“not at all, it’s actually pretty cute. but, with those stunning lips of yours, i think you could do a bit better than just a soliloquy.”

****

“then how’s this for size?”

****

clutching onto the gryffindor’s jumper collar, jeonghan pressed his mouth against mingyu’s smooth lips, in which he assumed were freshly exfoliated. it was gentle at first, both of them trying to keep at a steady speed so the experience wasn’t uncomfortable for the other. jeonghan was diving straight into the deep end, seeing as this was his first kiss, so he tried to follow mingyu’s lead instead of attempting to take control and possibly ruin everything for them both. mingyu brushed his tongue across jeonghan’s lips, provoking the older to open his mouth for the younger to explore. as the gryffindor was occupied, the slytherin sank his teeth carefully into the former’s bottom lip, causing sounds of satisfaction to vibrate from them both. the salty scent of the lake water fused with the mint chocolate shower gel redolence diffusing from mingyu’s skin tingled jeonghan’s senses; the sensation of mingyu’s tanned fingertips dancing about jeonghan’s skinny waist as he himself cupped the younger’s cheeks in his hands. both of them combined drove jeonghan absolutely wild, rainbows shimmering in his vision against the charcoal background of his closed eyelids. 

****

when they pulled apart, jeonghan was completely blinded by lust, his heart begging to passively attack mingyu’s lips once more. but they both were worn out, and jeonghan wanted to receive a solid answer from the boy he so dearly loved. “so, will you give me another chance to prove my worth?”

****

mingyu didn’t tear his eyes away from jeonghan for a single second, and jeonghan didn’t plan on doing so either. “i will, but please don’t play with my heart like that again. if you do, i will leave, and i might not come back.”

****

“trust me, i’m never listening to minhyuk for romantic advice ever again. you’re safe from harm now, and that’s a promise i can keep.”

****

if jeonghan had learnt anything from the challenges he had just pursued, it was that you should never assume anything about a person before you truly get to know them, because no one is really an open book, for there could be a page missing that they don’t want anyone else to see; and that self-belief and self-confidence are the strongest weapons any wizard (or even a muggle) can possess. 

****

it didn’t matter that jeonghan didn’t win the tri-wizard tournament at the end of the day, because the journey he travelled was a tremendous award in itself. 

****

today was the first day, since that fateful day in his first year of hogwarts, where jeonghan could finally confidently say: 

****

_ ‘i’m proud of myself.’ _

****

and it felt pretty damn good.

****

_ one will lose his honour (and then find his pride) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for sticking with me through all of this!
> 
> i really hope you enjoyed this, it took forever but i'm pretty sure i got the message across that i hoped!   
> (do correct me on any mistakes, as i said before, i am not a potterhead)
> 
>  
> 
> feedback is always appreciated!
> 
>  
> 
> ☆thank you for reading!☆


End file.
